


The Things I Do For You

by Toilichte



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Gen, Implications of violence, Manipulation, Origin Stories, young Rei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 07:59:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19719496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toilichte/pseuds/Toilichte
Summary: Rei learns the hard way that he shouldn't trust strangers.





	The Things I Do For You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Thanks for joining me!
> 
> Just a note in advance, this fic is dark and represents Rei's origins from a larger AU that a group of us are working on. I'm vague about the contents but please take care of yourselves if themes of manipulation, violence and murder make you uncomfortable!
> 
> Big thank you to Bideroo for beta reading this!

The fan whirred on top of Rei’s desk. If he was being honest, he didn’t particularly want to sleep while the old dusty thing growled to itself in the darkened corner of his room, but if he turned it off, the sweltering heat would crawl back in. Then he wouldn’t have a choice whether he was getting to sleep or not. Instead, Rei stretched out on top of his sheets, eyes pinpointed on the gap between his curtains where he could spy on the insects swarming under the lights.

Inside his mind, intrusive thoughts were swarming as well, cramming images of his poor mother and father in hospital, along with the bills and the healthcare taxes on the table, to the forefront. As a young teen, Rei never realised he would have to deal with anything so serious so early in his life. He’d tried to get a job, but his age, matched with his mounting homework, led to him being paid barely higher than minimum wage. There was no way he could pay the bills all by himself in his current situation.

He dragged an arm over his forehead, wiping away the gathering sweat, and swung his leg off of the bed. Maybe there was something else he could do, something he hadn’t thought of yet.

He’d been talking to people online about his predicament, but only one had really given him any leads. It was a chatboard, one that he had to struggle to get to by downloading an entirely new web browser which advertised complete anonymity. Rei didn’t understand why he would have any more luck here than on his regular browser, but someone had once messaged him that it was the best place to look in for people in his situation. 

That person had been correct, so it seemed, as not long after scouring the content the new browser had to offer Rei had already found a group of people discussing the subject of monetary gain. Or rather, discussing ludicrous methods of gaining money. Rei suspected that the board was filled with people like him, people who were struggling with large bills or payments and were using the chatroom as a form of escapism – he doubted that one person had actually robbed a jeweller’s and settled on the more realistic idea that it was an odd form of wish fulfilment. To Rei, it might not have been a place where he would find a way of getting money, but it was a place he could pretend that he already had it. 

As if he’d summoned it using his thoughts alone, his computer pinged from the other side of the room. Dragging himself out of bed, Rei checked who it was.

_ D1$A$T3R: You awake? _

Rei made sure to type back quickly. Disaster was one of the first people to welcome Rei to the chatroom. He might even consider them friends. Despite the anonymity that the chatboard provided, Rei had still shared his country of residence with the user, along with a general idea of his age: “teen”. To Rei’s delight, they shared both of these things in common.

_ Me: Just. It’s too warm here. _

_ D1$A$T3R: You got that right. It always is this time of year. _

_ D1$A$T3R: Anyway, I have some cool info. Do you wanna hear it? _

_ Me: Sure. _

_ D1$A$T3R: So my dad might be able to help you out with some cash! _

Rei’s interest piqued. In all their time messaging, Disaster had never clarified that he had direct relatives with any sort of wealth, not least an amount big enough to just give out some to some random kid on the internet.

_ D1$A$T3R: Give me your address. _

Rei, being young and gullible despite his above average intelligence, gave in to his curiosity and typed out his address. He trusted Disaster. He was his friend.

_ D1$A$T3R: Oh perfect! I didn’t realise we were actually that close! _

_ D1$A$T3R: It’ll arrive by Friday. MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN. _

With that, Disaster logged off. Instead of feeling excited, Rei was left alone and confused, staring at his monitor and expecting him to return at any moment.

* * *

By the time Friday had rolled around, Rei was a ball of anxious nerves. His aunt had swung by to drop off the weekly shop but they barely talked the entire time that she restocked his kitchen. Rei and his aunt were never close, especially not since the family argument that took place some years back. If that had never taken place, Rei might have lived with her when his parents were hospitalised, but instead he adamantly refused. His aunt had been more than happy to oblige. She only delivered groceries to his house due to an obligation not to let her nephew starve, but could easily be dissuaded from showing up at all with a short text message from Rei asking for the money to do a shop himself instead.

His unwanted visitor only made him more anxious as, when his aunt had knocked, he leapt out of his chair with the panicked thought that the gift was arriving early and that he wasn’t mentally prepared yet. It didn’t help his nerves when the next loud noise wasn’t the door knocking again, but a message pinging at his computer.

_ D1$A$T3R: Has it come yet? _

_ Me: No, I’ve been waiting all day. When will it arrive? _

_ D1$A$T3R: Will you voicechat? _

Rei was momentarily stunned, both at the avoidance of his question and at the proposition. Disaster seemed very identity conscious when they had been talking before. Yes, they had shared larger things, like their age range and their general location, but this sudden dive into more personal information like the fact that he was nearby or his voice made Rei anxious.

But this opportunity was too much to pass up.

_ Me: I can. _

No sooner than his message had sent, Disaster was calling him. Rei wasted no time letting him talk.

Disaster sounded young. Older than Rei, but still in his teens just like he had said. Perhaps around seventeen or eighteen by Rei’s estimations. His voice had a slight lilt like the type a bully would adopt if they were teasing someone they looked down on.

“It’ll be there any time now. I’m so excited for you to see it.”

Rei didn’t know how to respond for a second, and so just settled on, “It’s odd to be talking to you.”

“Hang on, you sound younger than I expected. How old are you?”

“Thirteen.” Rei admitted, frowning at the screen, “but I’m nearly fourteen.”

“Fuck, I thought you were my age.” Disaster fell silent for a moment. “No. It’s alright. It’s all okay. It makes this way easier.”

“I’m sorry, what are you talking about?” Rei asked, stomach sinking with each exchange.

He didn’t have enough time to wait for a response when the front door thumped three times, each knock rattling the hinges. With his heart in his throat, Rei slipped out of his desk chair and stumbled to the door, barely in control of his own legs.

He didn’t know what he expected when he swung open the door, but it wasn’t a kind-faced mailman.

“Got a parcel for you son, no need to sign.” Rei was sure that he had winked, but he didn’t have time to process it as, when the mailman turned away he was greeted with the sight of a bright tattoo creeping over the top of his collar. Something wasn’t right.

“Have you opened it yet?” Disaster’s excited voice called from the other room, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Bring it here. I want to hear what you think.”

Rei obliged, heart pounding in time with his footsteps. He sat the heavy parcel on top of his desk and started to tear at the tape. It was wrapped up so tight that it was nearly impossible to get into without the help of a kitchen knife.

When he eventually peeled away the final layer and opened the matte metal case that it contained, Rei’s heart dropped out of his chest.

“You still there?”

“What is this?” Rei breathed, and he was stunned by how much his voice shook.

“Surprise! I got it ‘specially for you. Might be a bit big though, if you’re average size for your age of course. But you’ll grow into it. Do you like it?”

Rei stared down at the shining black nestled among grey foam, skin prickling and adrenaline spiking. 

“I- It-” Unable to finish his sentence, Rei’s breath hitched. “Why me?”

“You’re in a desperate situation, my dad’s in a desperate situation too. It was just perfect timing.”

“What about all those other people in the chat? We’re  _ all _ desperate. I thought  _ you _ were desperate too. Just like us.”

“We’re a different sort of desperate, kid. It’s a mutually beneficial scenario and I picked you because you’re my friend.”

Deep down, Rei didn’t believe that one bit.

“Friends don’t send friends  _ sniper rifles _ ! These things are illegal! Please tell me it isn’t real.”

“’Course it is. Don’t tell me that you don’t love it, kid. You’ve played video games right? This is the real deal. Haven’t you ever wanted to shoot a real one before?”

Rei sat back in his chair, staring at the weapon in front of him. Of course he’d played some video games; he’d gone to laser tag a couple of times too, and playing soldier as a young child took up a large part of his friend group’s playtime. He’d even owned a couple of fake guns, the ones that shot foam bullets, but those got taken away from him when he broke one too many vases.

From his monitor, Disaster’s voice returned. It was softer this time, and it did wonders for Rei’s nerves, despite the fact that he could tell that he was being treated differently since Disaster discovered his true age.

“Come on, kid. Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But think about it, alright? There’s a lot of money in this, and I promise you that nothing bad will happen to you if you decide to take this up. Police won’t suspect someone your age.”

Rei didn’t say a word.

“Take your time.” Came the cheery response.

His computer made a noise and Disaster’s nametag disappeared, allowing Rei to finally break down into panicked sobs like he had wanted to do for some time now.

He got up from his chair and paced the room. What was he supposed to do, go to the police? They would arrest him for having weaponry, or even being on shady chatrooms in the first place. He hadn’t looked into the legality of the browser he was using, the blame would definitely be put on him. And what if they didn’t arrest him? Disaster would definitely find out that he had tried to rat him out and the man with the tattoo might return since he knew where he lived. Rei had come to the solid conclusion that he wasn’t a mailman, not at all. What sort of mailman just gives over a parcel, no questions asked and with no need to sign anything?  _ Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! _ Rei cursed at himself and sank to his knees in the middle of his floor, hiding his face in his hands and shivering violently.

* * *

Days had passed, and Rei was slowly starting to make up his mind. More bills had come through, along with a shaky handwritten note from his mother assuring Rei that she was ‘doing fine’ she just had to ‘stay a little longer, go through a few more check-ups’. Rei had put that letter on the pile of all the other handwritten notes from his parents, all of them featuring very similar sentiments.

Zero hour drew nearer closer, but Rei had already made up his mind. He had to do it. He had no choice. Eventually, the money in his parents’ accounts would run out. Then, the treatments would stop. What would happen after that? Rei didn’t want to find out, and if he took Disaster’s ‘offer’, he wouldn’t have to.

He had to admit, Disaster hadn’t been very clear on what he had wanted Rei to do but he was a smart young man; he could figure it out all by himself.

Rei was also very aware of the vague threats that were being directed at him. He had received plenty of messages about Disaster’s father, usually boasting how high up he was – in what, Rei wasn’t aware – which were sent whenever Rei showed any sign of protest.

He knew that this went deeper than he had ever expected, but maybe if he made the right decisions he could stay with his legs dangling in the water, rather than fully submerging himself in the murky depths beneath.

__

_ Me: Okay. _

_ D1$A$T3R: Okay? You’ll do it? _

_ Me: I’ll do it. _

_ D1$A$T3R: Alright! Now call me, I’ll teach you how to set up your new toy. _

__

Hours later, Rei found himself smarter in a field he never wanted to know more about and on top of a roof somewhere on the outskirts of a town he never wanted to visit.

A few hours after that, Rei found himself hunched over his bathroom sink, bile rising in his throat and hair sticking to his forehead with sweat. His glasses lay on the floor somewhere behind him, discarded as he barrelled towards his bathroom upon returning. He hadn’t stopped crying since he set foot in his home, like a dam had broken the second he saw something familiar, but by now his loud sobs had dissolved into harsh heaving. It was a surprise that his neighbours hadn’t called on him yet, but Rei couldn’t find it in him to care. Not anymore. Not about his glasses, not about the tear tracks on his cheeks, not the ringing in his ears and the buzzing in his head. Not anything.

* * *

Disaster had promised a large sum of money to be delivered, and he was true to his word. The mailman reappeared at his door with another bright smile and friendly face, but Rei was more attuned this time and merely nodded his head in thanks before swinging the door shut.

His prayers had been answered and his worries concerning his parents could finally be dismissed, but a new set of problems arose. Rei spent countless nights awake in bed, staring at that same light and that same swarm of bugs through his curtains, wishing it was just the heat that was keeping him awake now.

* * *

“Jeez… Rei-chan, that’s rough.”

Rei snapped out of his thoughts and glanced down at the blond perched at his side. He hadn’t registered that he had trailed off once he had finished his story. To be honest, it had been such a long time that Rei hadn’t realised that he was still that affected by it.

“It’s in the past,” Rei bluffed easily, fluently. “I’m not too worried anymore.”

“Do you know who he was?” Haru asked from the other side of the table, eyebrows furrowed with concern.

“Disaster? No. And I’m glad for it. I moved out of that place after two years. They got me to take a couple more contracts but by that point I was ready to get on with it myself. I didn’t like being manipulated, threatened, or taken advantage of.” Rei shook his head slowly and trailed his eyes over the dining room table, avoiding the food – he didn’t think his stomach could handle anything at the moment.

“He was a terrible man.” Makoto spoke up from Rei’s other side, face surprisingly calm. “The world’s full of them, but people who prey on those younger and more vulnerable are the worst of them all. You see it over and over again, but in cases like these-”

Makoto had stopped talking, and Rei noticed that it was due to Haru’s hand placed carefully against his elbow.

“I’m not offended, Haruka-san,” Rei spoke up, clearer than before, “but thank you. Sometimes I need to be reminded that it wasn’t solely my fault, or else it gets too much and the…” He trailed off, but Nagisa leaned closer, causing Rei to glance down at him.

“It’s the guilt. Right?”

The way these words were spoken, with equal amounts intensity and understanding, and the untamed look in his eyes made Rei feel an odd sense of something he hadn’t felt in a long time: familiarity.

“Something like that.” Rei could barely whisper back.

  
  



End file.
